Edward howled at the sound of his name.
Jack regarded the creature. He had googly eyes, and his tongue was hanging out at an odd angle. He looked dopey, even for a beagle. “I didn’t know you had a dog.”
What an inane thing to say. Why would he know she had a dog?She hadn’t volunteered that information, and how would he have known to ask? He wasn’t a dog person. He wasn’t ananimalperson. In his opinion, purchasing a domesticated animal to love you showed weakness of character.
It was just that in his experience, dog people often made their “fur babies” their whole personality. He would have thought that in all those hundreds of texts, she’d have mentioned a dog.
“I have a dog.” She looked down at said dog. “Edward, say hello.”
Edward gave another howl but sat down and stuck out his paw.
Jack interpreted this to mean he was now expected to get off his ass andshake hands with a dog. This, he reminded himself, was why he was leaving. He stayed where he was.
“Edward is named after Edward Cullen,” Blair said.
He searched his memory bank.
“Edward Cullen is the vampire from the Twilight books,” she added.
Of course he was.
“You’re probably thinking I named Esme after Twilight, too.”
He had not been. He hadn’t known there was an Esme in Twilight. He also had no idea who Blair’s Esme was. “Is Esme another dog?” He looked around.
“Esme is my daughter.”
Right. He knew she had one of those. This would be the child who’d just left for college, part of the reason for Blair’s self-professed loneliness.
“Esme was born before the first Twilight movie came out. I hadn’t read the books before I saw the movie, which is unusual for me. So I didn’t realize there was an Esme in Twilight. You might be thinking,If you already have a kid named after Twilight, even if accidentally, why would you subsequently name your dog after Twilight?”
He had not been thinking that, but he was starting to understand the pattern here. He was not required to answer any of Blair’squestions; they were tools to allow her to perform a monologue. He merely had to listen. Or not listen. He checked his watch.
“I was late to the party, but I became a big Twilight fan. When I went to pick up Edward, who was at that point not named Edward, from the breeder, he was outside playing. You’ll notice he’s got atypical coloring for a beagle.”
Jack had not noticed.
“See all those speckles? He was playing under a tree, and as he came running out into the sun and the speckles came into view, I was reminded of how the vampires in Twilight sparkle in the sun, you know?”
He did not know, but again, no answer was required.
“So of course he had to be Edward. How could he not be? Anyway, we’re going on a walk. Want to come?”
He opened his mouth to say no, but why the hell not? He was going to spend much of the day on a plane. And if the current pattern held, he wouldn’t have to talk—Blair was doing enough of that for both of them. “All right, but I need to be back in an hour. A little less than that, actually.”
He waited for her to ask why. It would be his opening to sayWell, actually…
It’s not you, it’s me…
Itwasher, but she didn’t need to know that. He’d insulted Blair Kellermoon twice in their brief acquaintance. Perhaps, when it came to being a decent human being, the third time would be the charm.
She did not remark upon his proposed timeline. She only beamed and said, “I try to be in the office by eight every day, so that’s perfect.”
Jack picked up his monstrosity of a mug, chugged the rest of his lukewarm but still surprisingly good coffee, and got to his feet.
“You want to grab a coat or something?” she asked.
“I do not.” This was, in fact, his ideal temperature. If this was atypical October morning here, he could honestly say that October mornings were his favorite thing about LA.
